SECTIONS 10520-10523 - California Statutes

WATER CODE

SECTION 10520-10523

10520. This part shall be known and may be cited as the
Agricultural Water Conservation and Management Act of 1992.

10521. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following
definitions govern the construction of this part:
(a) "Water conservation" means the reduction of the amount of
water consumed or irretrievably lost in the process of satisfying
beneficial uses which can be achieved either by improving the
technology or the method for diverting, transporting, applying,
reusing, salvaging, or recovering water, or by implementing other
conservation methods.
(b) "Efficient water management" means reasonable and economically
justifiable programs to improve the delivery and use of water for
agricultural purposes that will result in water conservation.
(c) "Water supplier" means the department or other public agency
that supplies water for agricultural use.

10522. A water supplier, individually or in cooperation with other
public agencies or persons, may institute a water conservation or
efficient water management program, including, but not limited to,
all of the following components:
(a) Providing irrigation and other water use management services
to persons served by the water supplier, including, but not limited
to, all of the following services:
(1) Providing information on historic and current crop water use
data for crops grown in the area served by the water supplier,
including evapotranspiration and leaching requirements of those
crops.
(2) Providing irrigation consulting services to monitor on-farm
water use practices and to provide information to improve on-farm
water management.
(3) Monitoring salinity to obtain favorable salt balances.
(4) Recommending more efficient techniques for preplanting
irrigation of the crop root zone.
(5) Providing evaluations of the operation and efficiency of
individual on-farm irrigation systems and animal sanitation systems
and similar uses, and making recommendations for improvement of those
systems.
(6) Providing irrigation management improvement services during
the growing season.
(b) Making physical and structural improvements to the water
supplier's delivery system, and aiding in the improvement of on-farm
systems, including, but not limited to, all of the following
improvements:
(1) Using flow measuring devices in the delivery system and
providing to farmers, or assisting farmers in the use of, on-farm
flow measurement devices.
(2) Lining ditches and canals or providing pipelines in the
supplier's delivery system and helping farmers to take these actions,
except where seepage is desirable for groundwater recharge or
environmental purposes.
(3) Evaluating the storage, conveyance, and drainage systems of
the water supplier and the farmers served by the water supplier and
the application systems of the farmers served by the water supplier
to maximize efficient water management.
(4) Assisting farmers technically and financially with
installation and operation of on-farm conservation equipment if the
installation and operation is economically feasible for the water
supplier.
(c) Making institutional and operational adjustments, including,
but not limited to, all of the following adjustments:
(1) Allowing changes or flexibility in the water contract year to
more closely fit water-use characteristics of the crops being grown.
(2) Establishing a pricing structure for water delivered to
encourage conservation.
(3) Maximizing flexibility, to the extent economically and
otherwise feasible, in water delivery to farmers to enable them to
optimize their irrigation efficiency.
(4) Developing education programs for farmers relating to on-farm
conservation.
(5) Promoting or developing conjunctive use programs for use of
groundwater and surface water.
(6) Encouraging voluntary exchanges of water between water
suppliers which have surplus water and suppliers which have a water
shortage.

10523. In formulating a water conservation or efficient water
management program, a water supplier may take into account the
positive or negative effect of the program, or any of its parts, on
other factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) The productivity of agricultural land served by the water
supplier or other lands.
(b) The quality of groundwater or surface water.
(c) Fish and wildlife or other environmental values.
(d) Recreational uses.
(e) Surface and subsurface drainage discharge.
(f) The salt balance.
(g) Groundwater overdrafting.
(h) Peak and total energy use.
(i) The cost of water and the economics of farming.
(j) Water supply to other users.